Travel Gifts: The Lynch Family Wish List
With Christmas looming people are asking “what do you want?” and pretty much all of it involves our move to Mexico and transition to a nomadic life. We’ll be giving up most of our current possessions so what we keep will be that much more important.
For those who are inspired by our plans and want to help I present The Lynch Family Wish List, travel gifts that we hope to have before we move. We usually buy second hand so your used items are welcome.
Snorkel vests – We all have great snorkel gear and plan on spending lots of time exploring the world class reefs in Cozumel and beyond. After a close call in Akumal in 2013 I realized that you can never be too safe, so even though we are all good swimmers I’d like to have inflatable snorkel vests as a backup safety measure. Especially for the kids!
Bilingual books-NOT Spanish language, bilingual with English and Spanish(this has been confusing for some of the relatives.) Traveling in Mexico and then Central/South America we will be able to find plenty of Spanish language resources. I’m wanting BI-lingual resources to help our language skills along, and kids books work well for the whole family (we might all need to know how to say “where is the cat?”) We can also pass these along to local Mexican children when we no longer need them.
Kindle – We are readers, but we are also going to be home/worldschoolers soon and I firmly believe that if you can read you can learn anything. However when traveling my beloved books take up valuable space and get really, really heavy. We have one Kindle, but if you have a different tablet or reader you’d like to offer us we aren’t picky about our learning tools.
Bicycle lights and/or locks – Yes, we do have helmets, but riding our bikes as our main transportation in Cozumel means we will need more safety (lights) and security (locks.) Lights should be water resistant in case of rain and combination locks are preferred over keys. If there are any other recommended bike repair or upkeep items you feel might be useful please contact me.
Camelbak cleaners or replacement parts – Each member of our family has their own Camelbak backpack. Not only useful for day trips or as carry on luggage, being able to carry 2-3 L of water means we don’t buy plastic bottles of water-score one for the environment! Cleaning tablets keep that water tasting fresh, and the bite valves wear out if the kids bite on them too much, so those are our top needs. Covers for the bite valve and replacement water bladders are always good, too.
Waterproof camera/Go Pro – The stores are all about the new ones, but if that’s too much maybe you’re getting one for yourself and I can have your old one? Go Pros are everywhere, and while I need to replace my lost waterproof camera, a Panasonic Lumix I’m thinking a Go Pro might be a good addition. I would love to be able to be in more pictures myself (hello camera-on-a-stick accessory) and it would be excellent for scuba diving in Cozumel. Maybe I’ll even dabble in videos to go with the blog!
Higher capacity ipods – These become a treasured resource when on a road trip, plane, bus, or pretty much whenever we need to be still and quiet for a bit (for all of us, not just the kids.) The girls love audio books (Magic Tree House and Percy Jackson are current favorites,) but the 8GB ipods they have are full and could use an upgrade. If you feel like buying a treat for us big kids our ipods were both 80GB but old; Jason’s has died and mine is getting alarmingly glitchy. The girls have also discovered itunes gift cards if you want to make their day that way.
Scuba gear:
Underwater dive lights – useful not only for night diving but for night snorkeling with the kids. If you have never gone in the water after dark, it’s a whole different world and one I want to share with my family.
Dive computer – ambitious I know, but it never hurts to ask, right? We learned the old school way using dive tables but I envy other divers with their computers constantly calculating safety for them while underwater.
If none of this has inspired you to shop I put a Donate button in the sidebar just for you – buy us a drink, a bus ticket or a day trip, every little bit helps!
Disclaimer: None of these brands paid me (but if they want to please call!) and I’ve included some links to help you along but feel free to shop wherever you like.
